‘Toy Story 5’ VFX supervisor reveals how Pixar kept Taylor Swift collaboration secret from its crew

The lengths Pixar went to protect a surprise Taylor Swift collaboration on Toy Story 5 have been revealed by one of the film’s visual effects supervisors, who said the studio created a “decoy version” of the movie to prevent leaks.

Speaking at SXSW London, Toy Story 5 VFX supervisor Thomas Jordan explained that only a small group of people knew Swift had written an original song for the upcoming animated sequel, with even many members of the film’s crew kept in the dark for months.

According to Jordan, Swift became involved with the project after requesting an early screening of the unfinished film. The singer, a longtime fan of the Toy Story franchise, was inspired to write a song for the movie and later offered it to Pixar.

“She wrote the song and then asked us if we wanted it,” Jordan recalled. “And we said, ‘Uh, yes! Yes we do.’”

The track, titled “I Knew It, I Knew You”, was written with Swift’s frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff and is connected to Jessie, the cowgirl character voiced by Joan Cusack. Swift publicly announced the song this week, describing the experience as both a creative challenge and a nostalgic return to a franchise she has loved since childhood.

To ensure the collaboration remained secret ahead of the film’s release, Pixar reportedly distributed an alternate version of Toy Story 5 during early screenings. Jordan said the strategy successfully concealed the song from journalists, preview audiences and even many people working on the production.

“The crew that made Toy Story 5 did not know about this secret until last week,” Jordan revealed.

The revelation marks the end of months of speculation linking Swift to the Pixar sequel. Fans had previously pointed to a series of clues and Easter eggs suggesting some form of collaboration between the singer and the film, although details remained closely guarded until this week.

Toy Story 5 is set to reunite audiences with Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie while introducing several new characters. The film features returning voice stars Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack, alongside newcomers including Greta Lee, Alan Cumming and Bad Bunny.

While Pixar is no stranger to secrecy, Jordan’s comments offer a rare glimpse into how far studios are willing to go to protect major surprises in the age of social media. In this case, that meant hiding one of the world’s biggest pop stars from much of the very team making the film.